Today, I had a bus full of tweens visit me for a tour of my college work place. I noticed a lot of staff roll their eyes, drink lots of extra coffee, and brace themselves for their arrival. As the buses arrived, this negative energy created an ominous feel. It was so ominous, as the kids filed off the buses you could hear the Imperial March playing.
(I just got done watching a Star Wars marathon. Anyone else excited for the movie?)
My fellow coworkers reaction was normal. Any bus full of kids arriving at a work place would cause this reaction.
I only mention this story because it made me realize how sometimes we don't provide the best services to tweens just because of their age & reputation.
When it comes to reference services, I think tweens don't always get the best service either.
I know sometimes I am guilty of this. I might be tempted to spend more time with an adorable toddler who is looking for a Disney book than try and tackle a grumpy tween looking for a book for class the night before an assignment is due.
Today, I wanted to share some of my favorite sites for tweens (ages 8-12) & their educators.
I hope that by sharing some of these resources, we can provide better library service to tweens.
Here are my 2015 favorites:
DK Encyclopedia
-Pamela
*Please note that none of these resources are mine. They are copyrighted by all of their individual owners. I am just sharing these websites as a learning tool. To learn more about them, please visit the websites provided.*
When this site launched this year, I was blown away. It is an interactive visual encyclopedia. I especially like this resource for looking up math vocabulary questions.
Its attractive color scheme, pictures, and user friendly format will attract kids.
This is perfect for young users who need an online source.
I am a visual learner, and I tend to sympathize with my other visual learning patrons. Mocomi is the perfect source for this! It provides online videos explaining concepts ranging from history- math. This is a fantastic resource to look at when asked those homework questions!
Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought that I needed to teach young children how to code. Nor would I have thought that I would need resources to teach these kids how to code in a library setting. This resource provides fun games to explain to kids how coding works. This is similar to the program Scratch, but it uses characters that have more kid appeal such as Frozen.
Get Epic is a online library. It is $5 a month for parents and kids, but it is free to educators. This resource is perfect for those teachers who need a ton of books on a subject & you don't have them on your shelf! I have had really good response showing them this resource.
This resource may also benefit kids who have to read on a certain reading level for school. It breaks down a lot of popular books and if you pay the $5 they can read those books instantly. I was really impressed by the content. It has a lot of quality information and popular titles such as Big Nate.
Common Core is a mystery to some parents. Lean Zillion is the first cloud based curriculum. It is competently free! It breaks down what your child is learning and why. From there, it has instructional videos and handouts explaining math concepts. I love to recommend this resource to parents and to kids who are struggling with their math. It is perfect for kids who learn in a different way.
These are just a few resources!
For even more resources, you can also visit ALSC Best Web Sites For Kids
Do you have any favorite go to online resources for kids?
*Please note that none of these resources are mine. They are copyrighted by all of their individual owners. I am just sharing these websites as a learning tool. To learn more about them, please visit the websites provided.*
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